An investigation on magnetic characteristics of ring magnet for wheeled in-pipe and out-pipe robots

Abstract

The magnetic adhesion of ring magnets classified under permanent magnets, which are employed in magnetic wheels for In-Pipe and Out-Pipe robots, is investigated in this paper. The study is carried out using FEMM software for ring magnets by changing their inner diameter and thickness against a minimum pipeline thickness. The results show that the adhesion force increases as the magnet thickness increases and reduces as the magnet's inner diameter increases. When it comes to inner and outer pipelines, the positioning of ring magnets is also a challenge. This is demonstrated using solidworks software by modelling a ring magnet and laying it over the inner and outer pipelines. Ring magnets of various thicknesses were found to be necessary for diverse pipeline diameters. So based on FEMM simulation and visualization from solidworks the optimal thickness and inner diameter for the ring magnet are derived. The simulation results help researchers choose the optimal ring magnet for the magnetic wheel for both In-Pipe and Out-Pipe robots.